If This Is Tuesday, It Must Be…Rube Goldberg!

To invent you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. —Thomas Edison

Ever since I started watching Looney Tunes as kid, I’ve been obsessed with Rube Goldberg machines—you know, those crazy contraptions Wile E. Coyote would set up in order to trap the Road Runner or slaughter Bugs Bunny (Tom and Jerry got in on the action, too). In short, Rube Goldberg machines perform a simple task as inefficiently as possible. They were the creation of—you guessed it—Rube Goldberg, an engineer-turned-cartoonist. His cartoons of elaborate contraptions made to do everything from make toast to kick out a guest who won’t leave were insanely popular in the 1930s and ’40s. (You can check out his work here.)

Later this month Purdue University will host its annual Rube Goldberg Competition, which has produced some truly astounding (and world-record-breaking) machines. In honor of the competition and of Mr. Goldberg himself, here is a collection of my favorites—the most brilliant, insane, hilarious, epic, and downright inspiring machines I’ve ever seen.

Wile E. + Acme

Where it all started for me. Looney Tunes made some of the most hilarious RGMs in the business. Here, Wile E. Coyote once again tries to trap that dratted Road Runner with his trusty supplies from Acme (the RGM appears at 4:55):

Kermit’s Kontraption

Is there anything better than old-school Sesame Street? Kermit the Frog gets into the Rube Goldberg act—or, at least, he tries to—with his What Happens Next machine, a “masterful invention” he has built to turn on his radio:

Pitagora!

Speaking of children’s shows, from Japan we have Pitagora Suichi (Pythagora Switch), a 15-minute educational show hosted by two penguins, Pita and Gora. The show was science-based, but focused mainly on showcasing RGMs. Here is a collection off RGMs that introduced the show (warning: the theme song will get jammed into your brainpan for at least an hour):

Ok Rube!

The group Ok Go has been known for inventive videos, but absolutely nothing beats the elaborate RGM they built for the song “This Too Shall Pass.”

Just a Cog in the Machine

A few years ago Honda created an RGM built from pieces of a car. There was a lot of speculation that this was computer-generated or somehow manipulated, but it actually is a working machine. It took more than 600 takes to get right. That must’ve been one expensive commercial shoot.

Rube GMod Machines

You don’t need a garage full of junk to build an RGM—you just need a computer. Using video games such as Minecraft you can build your own RGM to do—or blow up—just about whatever you want. Here is one of the most brilliant G-Mod RGMs ever built—with the best soundtrack ever. What is its task? You’ll just have to watch to find out.

Ramen, Anyone?

From a Rube Goldberg contest in Japan we have this winner of a contraption that makes ramen noodles. The only thing better than this machine is the almost apoplectic enthusiasm of the commentator.

The Page Turner

Reading the newspaper is great, but getting your fingers all smudged with ink isn’t. Brooklyn-based artist Joseph Herscher’s Page Turner solves that pesky problem—all with the sip of a cup of coffee.

Say Cheese!

Have you ever wondered how photobooths work? Wouldn’t it be great if they worked this way?

Rube Goldberg Photobooth from Crawford & Nelson on Vimeo.

Ladies and Gentlemen … Melvin!

Melvin the Machine (full name: Melvin the Magical Mixed Media Machine) is an absolute marvel. Unlike most RGMs, which exist to do a simple task, Melvin pretty much exists to promote himself—he makes t-shirts, posters, and even takes pictures of his audience. The ways he completes these tasks is sheer brilliance.

Melvin The Magical Mixed Media Machine from HEYHEYHEY on Vimeo.

(You can visit Melvin here.)

The History of the World—in 232 Steps

It is only fitting to wrap up this collection with last year’s winner for Purdue’s Rube Goldberg Contest. Competitors were tasked with building a machine that watered a flower. To do the task the winners, a team from the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, came up with a time machine. The contraption take 232 steps to complete the task, and now holds the record as the largest Rube Goldberg machine in the world.

Here is the machine with commentary from the builders:

And here is a close-up of how the whole thing works:

Now I’m inspired to build my own RGM—and what could be better than building a mousetrap for Tom to use on Jerry? With Tom’s Trap-o-Matic I can do just that. Talk about coming full circle.